The mayor of the Municipal District of Verón, Punta Cana, Ramón Antonio Ramírez (Manolito), accused the Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (MIVHED) this week of hindering key investments in the country's main tourist destination.
SANTO DOMINGO.– The Legal Counsel of the Executive Branch confirmed, through a letter, that Law 368-22 on Territorial Planning, Land Use and Human Settlements came into full force on December 24, 2022, the date established after its publication in Official Gazette No. 11092.
In an official letter dated Thursday, June 3, 2025, sent to the executive director of the Dominican Federation of Municipal Districts (Fedodim), Pedro Richardson, Antoliano Peralta Romero, Legal Consultant, clarifies any doubt about the applicability of the legislation that has been at the center of the conflict over powers between the District Board of Verón–Punta Cana and the City Council of Higüey.
Peralta points out in the letter that, according to article 109 of the Constitution and article 1 of the Dominican Civil Code, laws are mandatory from the second day of their publication throughout the national territory, and that in this case there is no room for interpretations or postponements in their application.
" Law 368-22 came into effect after its promulgation and publication in the Official Gazette... resulting in mandatory compliance as of December 24, 2022," the document from the Legal Consulting Office of the Executive Branch.
Verón has maintained a dispute with Higüey over the distribution of taxes, where that Municipal District assumed the operation of its own Urban Planning, based on article 24 of this law.
This article grants local governments with more than 15,000 inhabitants and revenue-collecting capacity the right to manage land use and issue building permits in their territory.
The letter also clarifies that some aspects will still need to be specified through implementing regulations to be issued shortly by the Executive Branch. However, it emphasizes that the law is fully binding from the date it enters into force.
Mayor accused Mivhed of obstructing investments
The mayor of the Municipal District of Verón, Punta Cana, Ramón Antonio Ramírez (Manolito), accused this week the Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (MIVHED), of hindering key investments in the country's main tourist destination, Punta Cana.
He said that this state agency does not comply with the provisions of Law 368-22 , which empowers municipal districts to create their Urban Planning Office, which, he argued, affects the management of territorial and economic development in that area.
During a press conference at the office of lawyer Ángel Lockward, Ramírez explained that Verón meets all the legal and population requirements to manage its land use. However, he stated that Carlos Bonilla, Minister of Housing, refuses to accept the permits issued by the city council, "which causesdelays in construction, loss of revenue, and obstacles to key investments in the Punta Cana tourist area."
